Denture cleansing composition



United States Patent 3,243,377 DENTURE CLEANSING COMPOSITION Morris E. Stolar, Parsippany, Harold E. Roy, Edison, and Edward F. Gunther, Morristown, N.J., assignors to Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, Morris Plains, N .J a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Filed Aug. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 305,862 1 Claim. (Cl. 252-95) This invention relates to novel denture cleansing compositions and to methods of their use. More particularly, this invention relates to new and novel effervescent denture cleansing compositions containing an indicator system which signals the user that the cleansing and deodorizing actions on the denture have been completed.

It is to be understood that the term denture as used throughout this specification and in the claims encompasses all those orthodontic appliances such as false teeth, removable dental plates and bridges, artificial teeth and the like.

It is obvious that in order to maintain proper oral hygiene, a strict regimen comprising adequate cleansing of the denture is highly desirable so that tartar, stains, food debris, bacteria and the like do not accumulate on the denture.

Prior to this invention dentures were generally cleansed by brushing with or Without an abrasive or by soaking in a detergent solution. These methods are lengthy, cumbersome and inefficient in that brushing with an abrasive, besides its damaging effects of dulling and scratching of dental finishes, does not always remove all the food debris or odor forming bacteria, and soaking in an aqueous detergent solution if alkaline in reaction may hasten the corrosion of the metal parts because the denture is commonly soaked overnight, often for about 8 to 10 hours, to ensure proper cleansing action. Another drawback in the brushing of a denture is the difficulty often encountered by physically handicapped persons such as arthritic patients who for obvious reasons cannot properly perform an adequate brushing job. Although in recent years improved cleansing compositions have been reported which have replaced the old-fashioned brushing method, they have been unable to produce a sparkling odor-free denture. The knoWn cleansing compositions are those exemplified by the so-called effervescent water soluble cleansing compositions of the oxygenated type. Thus, US. Patent No. 2,931,776 discloses such a composition. These compositions usually come in a dry solid form which on addition of Water produces a lively effervescence caused by the liberation of oxygen from the alkali metal perborate. The user soaks his denture in the resulting solution which has an alkaline pH and then subjects the cleansed denture to a water rinse to remove any residual akalinity. While such a composition does represent an improvement, the user still has no way of knowing when the cleansing action has been completed. In addition, the degree of foaming is so execessive that spilling of the desired cleansing solution is not an infrequent complaint.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel denture cleansing composition which contains an indicator system to signal the completion of cleansing action.

It is another object of this invention to provide a denture cleansing composition which exhibits a controlled degree of foaming.

A further object of this invention is to provide an effective yet gentle denture cleansing process which does not require brushing or undue soaking.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a denture cleansing composition which is not only fast in 3,243,377 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 action but which produces a brightening of the denture surfaces and effective control of odor.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a denture cleansing composition which in aqueous solution has a substantially neutral pH.

Other objects of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description.

In experimentation in this field we have now found, quite surprisingly, that an effective indicator system can be readily provided in denture and other cleansing compositions comprising the combination of an alkali metal persalts with acidic agents by incorporating certain dyes into said cleansing compositions. These compositions are capable of releasing oxygen by reaction with the persalts upon solution in water.

More specifically, we have found certain dyes exemplified by Guinea Green B of the formula:

exhibit a brilliant blueish green color in the reduced state and as it is oxidized in said cleansing composition it then turns colorless, thus indicating to the user that cleansing is complete. Although Guinea Green B is preferred, other dyes which have a cyclohexadienimine nucleus, as described above, such as FD & C Green #2, PD & C Green #3 and D & C Green #4 may also be employed as the indicator. The amount of dye incorporated in the composition may vary from about 0.01% to 1% butuse of a dye concentration of about 0.04% by weight of the final mixture is preferable.

The persalts useful as oxygen sources include alkali metal persalts such as anhydrous sodium perborate, potassium monopersulfate and the like. Depending upon the amount of oxygen desired the ratio of acids to persalt may vary but a ratio of about two parts of persalt to about one part of acid, is generally preferred so as to obtain a substantially neutral solution. The preferred acidic agents are the common citrus fruit acids such as citric and tartaric acid or their water soluble salts. Other nontoxic orally ingestible acids such as maleic or fumaric may also be utilized. The inclusion of a dye indicator system as described above has yet another and quite unexpected advantage in that should the active ingredients decompose in storage there will be no color observed on dissolution, thus giving the consumer notice of impaired activity.

We have also found, quite unexpectedly, that the cleansing power of the denture compositions of this invention may be remarkably enhanced by including a small percentage of a surface active agent. Compositions of the present invention which include a surface active agent on dissolution in water have been observed to clean dentures satisfactorily and without further brushing. Sodium lauryl sulfate, because of its relatively low toxicity and ready availability, is the surface active agent of choice.

ther surface active agents such as polysorbate 80, glyceryl monostearate or sodium cetyl sulfate may also be employed. The amount of surface active agent to be included may vary from 0.01% to 1% but an amount of 0.01% by weight in the final mixture is generally sufficient. Bicarbonate of soda, although not essential, may

also be included in the composition to give a source of carbonation which supplies added agitation.

Undue foaming is conveniently controlled by including in the composition about 0.01% by weight of dimethylpolysiloxane, which is commercially available, for example, under the trade name of Antifoam A. The novel compositions of this invention may optionally include flavors or antiseptic agents as well. For example, menthol, peppermint or oil of winter green are suitable and may be included to impart a mild and pleasant flavor and odor to the cleaned denture.

In order to further illustrate this invention the following examples are given.

Example 1 500 grams of sodium borate perhydrate are mixed intimately with 1000 grams of potassium monopersulfate and to this is then added in succession 932 grams of sodium bicarbonate and 1 gram of Antifoam A, 750 grams of anhydrous citric acid, 1.2 grams of Guinea Green B and about 20 grams of magnesium stearate. The above mixture after thorough blending is then compressed into tablets weighing 3.3 grams each and having a diameter of about inch. The finished tablets are wrapped in tin foil and hermetically sealed.

This mixture may also be packaged as a finely divided powder in units weighing 3.3 grams each.

Example 2 One tablet, as prepared in accordance with Example 1, is dissolved in about 8 oz. of water to give a brightly colored blueish green solution. A denture which has been previously worn in place for about 8 hours is removed and placed in the resulting solution. After about 10 to minutes of soaking the green color fades and the denture is found to be bright, clean and odorless.

It is understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A denture cleansing composition consisting essentially of:

(A) a mixture in combination of (a) about 2 parts by weight of a member of the group consisting of anhydrous sodium perborate and potassium'monopersulfate and (b) about 1 part by weight of a member of the group consisting of citric acid, tartaric acid, fumaric acid and maleic acid, said mixture having a substantially neutral pH on dissolution, and (B) a cleansing-completion indicator of the formula:

said cleansing-completion indicator being dispersed in said mixture in an amount from about 0.01% to 1% by Weight thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Colour Index, vol. 1, 2nd edition, 1956, page 1793.

JULIUS GREENWALD, Primary Examiner.

M. WEINBLATT, Assistant Examiner, 

